1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector mechanism that, in a state in which one connector that is arranged on one substrate and another connector that is arranged on another substrate are electrically connected, retains the connectors in a watertight manner.
2. Description of the Related Art
In electronic equipment and the like, connectors are used to electrically connect wiring and circuit boards or to electrically connect circuit boards to each other and the like. In some cases wiring and circuit boards and the like are directly connected to achieve miniaturization and thinning of electronic equipment and the like.
To improve the image quality in electronic endoscopes that are used in medical fields, industrial fields and the like, the number of pixels of image pickup devices of such endoscopes has been increasing. For example, by providing a relay substrate that amplifies a drive signal of an image pickup device inside an operation portion of an endoscope, in addition to improving the image quality, the diameter of an image pickup cable that is inserted through the inside of the insertion portion is also reduced.
In the aforementioned endoscope, in consideration of the repairability and assemblability and the like, a substrate to which an image pickup cable is connected and a relay substrate are electrically connected by a connector inside an operation portion. The substrate to which the image pickup cable is connected and the relay substrate are electrically connected inside the operation portion of the endoscope that is a watertight structure. However, in the event of water or the like entering into the operation portion, a malfunction will occur at an electrical connection portion. Consequently, it is desirable for an electrical connection portion that is formed by connectors to be retained in a watertight state.
The electrical connection portion, for example, is constituted by connecting a male connector that is mounted on the relay substrate and a female connector that is mounted on the substrate that is connected to the image pickup cable (hereunder, referred to as “cable substrate”). The watertightness of a connector connection portion that is the electrical connection portion is maintained by means of a packing.
The packing is disposed so as to surround an outer shape forming portion of the connector connection portion, and in this disposed state, one face of the packing is crushed by a flat face of the relay substrate and adheres thereto, and another face of the packing is crushed by a flat face of the cable substrate and adheres thereto. As a result, the connector connection portion is sealingly housed in a space inside the packing. Because the connector connection portion is sealingly housed inside the packing, a problem is prevented whereby drops of water or the like enter the electrical connection portion at a time of assembly, a time of repair, or when using the endoscope.
Note that Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2011-146286 discloses a waterproof attachment structure of a substrate connecting connector. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2004-327169 discloses a packing that is miniaturizable and is capable of surely waterproofing an area between articles, as well as a connector that includes the packing.